Scooter



Jam., M, 1%@ E. E, SCHAAD I SCOOTER Filed April 24, 1934 @a 4f INVENTOR.j@ j 2MP? SCEMD ATTOR Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE10 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a scooter or a childsvehicle consisting of a foot board supported by front and rear wheelsand rprovided in the front thereof with a box-like structure havinghandles projecting laterally therefrom, so that it may be propelled bythe child placing one foot on the foot board, while holding the handlesand kicking oil with the other foot.

The conventional scooter is well known and the principal object of thepresent invention is to provide a means for facilitating theconstruction of a scoo-ter by the child.

As a rule scooters are home-made products and the only diilicultyencountered by the child in making his scooter is involved in thehardware of wheel mounting. The foot board and the boxlike structuresupported on the front end thereof are made of wood and are constructed.by the child without diiiculty. At the present time a child constructinga scooter as a rule takes some wheels from an old pair of roller skatesand applies the same, by means of such tools as are available, in arather unsatisfactory manner. Furthermore, old roller skates are notalways available, and at times the child has to goto the eX- pense ofbuying a new pair of roller skates for the sole purpose of breaking thesame apart and utilizing the wheels for the scooter.

In the present invention it is proposed to facilitate the constructionof a home-made scooter by commercially providing the necessary hard-Ware which may be sold in a kit and at a reasonable price.

More particularly it is proposed in the present invention to provide apair of wheel mo-untings for a scooter, which are constructed in such amanner that they may be easily applied to the foot board without the useof any tools.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thespecication proceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure l shows a scooter made in accordance with myinvention in side elevation;

Figure 2 the same scooter in top plan View;

Figure 3 an enlarged fragmentary detail view in plan of a portion of thefoot board having my wheel mounting attached thereto;

Figure 4 a transverse section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 a fragmentary longitudinal section taken along line 5-5 ofFigure 4.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish tohave it understood that various changes or modifications may be madewithin the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

In its preferred form my scooter comprises a board I preferably of wood,and of suitable width to allow a boys foot to rest thereon, and ofsuitable length. On the front end of the board there is mounted a, box 2having a handle 3 projecting therefrom on both sides as at 4. The boardis supported by front and rear wheels 5 and 6 respectively, the frontwheels being arranged immediately behind the boX.2 and the rear wheelsnear the rear end of the board.

My invention is particularly concerned with these wheels and theirmounting means which are shown in detail in Figures 3 to 5. While I haveshown in the drawing a pair of wheels in each instance, it is apparentthat a single wheel might be substituted for the pair of wheels withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the front wheel structure, two wheels 5 are inter-connectedby a shaft l, which latter supportsa U-shaped element 8 having legs 9and a cross-piece I'projecting slightly above the wheels. A rectangularplate II preferably of a length corresponding to the width of the footboard I has a round downward projection I2 presenting a flat lower faceadapted to lie on the cross piece Il). The cross piece is secured to theprojection by means of a central screw I3, which allows the cross pieceto be turned relative t0 the projection I 2, and the cross piece may belocked in either one of two positions by means of a short lever I4pivoted in lips I6 projecting from the cross piece, and adapted toengage with one end in one of two recesses I l provided in the bottomface of the projection I2, a spring I8 urging the lever into the recess.The two recesses are arranged in such a manner that when the lever I4 islocked in one of the recesses I'I the cross piece Il) is positionedparallel to the plate II, and when the lever is locked in the otherrecess I'I the cross piece is arranged at right angles to the plate i I.For normal use as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cross piece will belocked so as to run parallel to the plate II as shown in the differentviews.

The plate I I is adapted for placing against the bottom face of theboard I and has a plurality of prongs I9 projecting therefrom which maybe made to penetrate into the wood of the foot board in the manner shownin Figure 4 to hold the plate II against shifting movement. For furtherholding the plate to the foot board I provide the strap which ispreferably made in two sections 2l and 22. This strap is intended topass around the foot board for holding the plate II thereto. The lowerends of the two sections are passed around the lower edges of the plateII and then through slots 23 to lie against the upper edge of anintermediate section of the plate I I. These ends are also formed with aplurality of perforations corresponding in their spacing and theirarrangement to the prongs I9 so that the strap sections may be placedover the prongs and be held in position by the latter passing throughthe perforations. There are sufficient perforations to allow the strapsections to be adjusted relative to the prongs, and the strap sectionsare preferably made to overlap as shown at 2d, the degree of overlappingdetermining the operative length of the whole strap.

After the lower ends of the two strap sections are thus secured relativeto the prongs the remaining portions of the two sections are guidedaround the sides of the foot-board and the upper ends are securedtogether by means of a suitable buckle shown at 25. While any suitablebuckle may be used for this purpose, I show a buckle involving a ring 26pivotally secured to one of the strap sections as at 21, and having alever 28 pivoted to its front member 29. The lever is made in the formof a plate 30 having two side flanges 3| arranged in spaced relation,and the pivot 29 is spaced from the plate 30 as shown in Figure 4. Asecond pin 32 is also supported in the flanges near one end of the leverand is adapted for pivotal engagement in recesses 33 formed in twoflanges 34 rising in spaced relation from the other strap section.

Figure 4 shows the buckle in active position. For loosening the same thefree end 35 of the lever is thrown upward whereby it is swung on the pin32 and the pivot 29 is also.made to swing about the pin 32. This loosensthe arrangement and the pin 32 may be lifted out of the recess in thelips 34. For fastening the buckle the pin 32 is rst engaged in therecess of the lips 34, whereupon the loose end 35 of the lever is swungabout the pin 32 into the position shown in Figure 4, the buckle beinglocked in position by the pivot 29, the ring 26 being thrown across thecenter of the pivot 32.

The manner of assembling the scooter by means of the wheel mountingsthus provided will be readily understood from the foregoing description.The wheel mounting and the strap are bought in the hardware store andafter the child has assembled the wooden parts of his scooter, hesecures the wheels in the manner previously described. He rstapproximates the length of strap necessary for his particular footboard, adjusts the length by placing the lower sections of his strapover the prongs, then places the plate II against the under face of theboard, drives the prongs into the wood and guides the loose ends of thestrap around the foot board to secure them by means of the buckle.

At times a child may desire to build a larger vehicle known as a coasterby arranging two of the foot boards in parallel relation and securingthe same together by means of a suitable vehicle body running at rightangles thereto. In order to make my wheel mounting available for acoaster of that kind, the wheels have to be arranged at right angles tothe foot board, and that is the reason why I provide for arranging thewheels in two different positions, either parallel to the foot board, orat right angles to the same, by means of the lever I4 engaging in therecesses I1.

I claim:

1. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate and astrap anchored to the plate for removably securing the plate to thebottom face of the board the strap having means underneath the board foradjusting the length thereof.

2. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate lying insupporting relation to the under face of the board, teeth rising fromthe plate projecting into the board, and a strap interlocked with theteeth for securing the plate to the board.

3. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate lying insupporting relation to the under face of the board, teeth rising fromthe plate and projecting into the board, a strap for securing the plateto the board, the strap being made in two sections meeting below theboard and being perforated for anchoring engagement with the teeth indifferent positions, whereby the full operative length of the strap maybe adjusted, and means for connecting the two sections above the board.

4. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting having a strap forremovablysecuring the same to a board or the like the strap beinganchored to the mounting for freedom of adjustability of the length ofthe strap at the anchoring.

5. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting comprising a pair ofwheels, a plate mounted thereover so as to be supported by the wheels, astrap for securing the plate to the bottom face of a board or the like,and pins rising from the plate and extending into the board material foreliminating movement of the plate rela tive to the board, the strapbeing anchored in said pins.

6. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate lying insupporting relation to the under face of the board, teeth rising fromthe plate and projecting into the board and a strap for securing theplate to the board, the strap having two ends meeting below the boardand being perforated for anchoring engagement with the teeth indifferent positions, whereby the full operative length of the strap maybe adjusted. 7. As an article of manufacture, a detachable wheelmounting for a scooter having a strap for removably securing the same toa board or the like, the strap being anchored to the mounting. 8. Ascooter comprising a foot board, a wheel mounting and a strap anchoredto the mounting and operable manually and without the aid of tools forsecuring the mounting to the foot board.

9. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting comprising a pair ofwheels, a plate mounted thereover so as to be supported by the wheels,

a strap anchored to the plate for securing the plate to the bottom faceof a board or the like, means for joining the ends of the strap andmeans intermediate the ends of the strap for adjusting the lengththereof.

10. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting comprising a pair ofwheels, a plate mounted thereover so as to be supported by the wheels, astrap for removably securing the plate to a board or the like, means foranchoring the strap to the plate, and means associated with theanchoring means for adjusting the overall length of the strap.

ELBERT E. SCHAAD.

